Chair.



T. E. HERINGTON.

CHAIR.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 16, 1915.

I Patented Feb. 29,1916.

2 SHEETSSHEET 1- TE.HEFHNGTON fig- ,1?

Guam mu T. E. HERINGTON.

CHAIR.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 16. 1915.

Patented Feb. 29,1916.

2 SHEETS SHEET 2- sa t 55 40 27 m 24 (a 12 23 1o 28 1&5 2| 2011' flmm/wtoz T HERIN T THOMAS E. HERINGTON, or MALLARD, IOWA.

CHAIR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 29, 1916.

Application filed April 16, 1915. Serial No. 21,761.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS E. HERING- TON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Mallard, in the county of Palo Alto and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Chairs, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My present invention pertains to new and useful improvements in chairs and has particular reference to that type of such articles which are known as opera chairs and are designed for use in theaters, auditoriums and like places, wherein a large audience is to be seated.

One of the principal objects of the invention is to construct a chair of this character which may be folded to lie below the surface of the floor, whereby the floor of the building may be quickly and readily cleared of all obstructions, thereby facilitating the cleaning of the building and the entrance and exit of the audience.

Another object is to provide the chair with a back leg which is formed in the nature of a board or slab adapted to form a closure for the opening through which the major portion of the chair is passed, when disposed in position beneath the floor.

Another object of the invention is to construct a chair of the folding and disappearing type which may either be mounted for disposal, when in folded position, within a receiving space formed in the floor of the building or may be attached to a base board having longitudinal sleepers and may be folded to lie within the limits of the upper and lower faces of these members.

The above, and other incidental objects of a similar nature, which will be hereinafter more specifically treated are accomplished by such means as are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, described in the following specification, and then more particularly pointed out in the claims which are appended hereto and form part of this application.

With reference to the drawings, wherein there has been illustrated the preferred embodiment of this invention, as it is-reduced to practice, and throughout the several views of which similar reference numerals designate corresponding parts, Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section taken through the chair and supporting base thereof with the parts of the chair in extended, operative position; Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section through the chair and supporting base, as shown in Fig. 1, in a plane located between the front and back legs; Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section showing the chair folded within the supporting base; Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of the back piece; and Fig. 5 is a bottom plan View showing the chair folded within the body member.

In the accompanying drawings, I have illustrated the preferred embodiment of my chair as being mounted in a base board 10, to the lower face of which and adjacent the longitudinal edges thereof are secured by any suitable fastening means a pair of parallel sleepers 11 which serve to space the base board from the floor so that the chair may be folded within the base board and with its back leg forming a closure for the opening 12 therein. This opening 12 is rectangular and is in dimensions approximately equal to the dimensions of the back leg board 13 of the chair so that when the chair is in folded position, this back leg board forms a portion of the base board and lies with its upper face flush with the upper face thereof.

The chair includes generally a back leg 13, front legs 14, a seat 15 and a back 16. The back leg is secured at one end, as by hinges 17 to the base board at one end of the opening 12 therein, as best shown in Fig. 1. The front legs 14 are preferably formed from metal bars, the adjacent terminals of which are connected by transverse slide rods 18 and 19, the former of which is slidably attached to the lower face of the base board by means of a slide plate 20 and the latter of which is slidably connected to the seat 15. j The slide plate 20 is formed preferably from a sheet of metal of rectangular form, the opposed edges of which are bent at right angles, producing the flanges 21 which extend in parallel spaced relation to the sleepers and are provided with longitudinal slots 22, through which the rod 18 is adapted to move when the chair is being folded or unfolded. This slide plate 20 is secured by screws or other suitable fastening means to the lower face of the base board and is arranged with its rear edge contiguous with the stop shoulders 23 formed at the forward edge of the opening 12.

On the side edges of the seat 15 are formed the depending parallel flanges 24:, through the longitudinal slots 25 of which the rod 19 is adapted to slide. At the forward ends of these slots are formed the rod receiving notches 26 in which the rod 19 is adaptedto seat when the chair is in operative position The rear terminal of the chair is pivoted to a slide plate 27 by means of a transverse rod or axle 28 which is mounted in parallel spaced relation to the face of this slide plate and is terminally secured in the right-angularly extending flanges 29 thereof. The

n slide plate 27 is secured by suitable fasten- I and 2.

The space between the flanges 29 is slightly greater than the width of the seat at the pivoted end thereof, so that the parallel slide flange 34 of the chair back 16 may be p mounted on the axle 28 and interposed between the flanges of the seat and slide plate 27.

As shown in the drawings, the slide flanges 34: are provided with longitudinal slots 34 so that the back piece may be slid on the axle 7V and disposed within'the limits of the perimeter of the back leg board when the chair is in folded position as in Fig. 3. Notches 35 are formed in the terminals of the slots 34: to receive the axle '28 whereby the back ,7 piece will be supported by this member,

' when the chair is unfolded for use.

The actual construction and arrangement of the several parts of the chair being thus disclosed, it now remains to describe the manner in which the chairis folded or unfolded. When the chair is unfolded and is ready for use, as shown in Fig. 1 the seat is supported at its rear end by the rear leg board 13 and at its front end by the front 7 legs 14, the lower transverse rod 18 of which is then located at the inner end of the flanges 21 and the upper rod 19 of which is seated in the notches 26, at the forward ends of the slots 25. The rear leg is held against rearward movement beyond a vertical position by means of the trunnions 31, the arms 32 having been swung upwardly when the rear leg is lifted from folded to unfolded position. The rod 19 is held against accidental displacement from the notches 26 by means of a contractile helicalspring 36, the rear end of which is secured to the axle 28 and the forward end of which is secured to the rod 19. Disposed transversely of the seat 15 at a predetermined point intermediate the length thereof is the strap 37 terminating in the downwardly disposed extensions 39, the

' central portion of said strap being offset to bridge the spring 36. The rod 19 is adapted to contact with said strap during the folding operation of the chair so that the inward movement of the rod 19 will be limited. It

is to be finally observed that when the chair is in position for use, the back piece is supported by the rod 19 which is seated in the receiving notches 35.

When the chair is to be turned to folded position, the front end of the seat is lifted to release the rod 19 from the notches 26, so that the spring 36 will pull the rod 19 toward the axle 28. When, through the con traction of the spring, the rod 19 has been drawn to the center of the seat, this member swings downwardly by gravity, until its slide flanges 2A bear against the slide plate 27 as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. When the seat dro s in this manner, its front edge is engaged y the spring catch 38- and the seat is thus held against unfolding until the spring catch is manually released by the user of the chair. After the seat has been folded the back is lifted to disengage the axle 28 from the notches 35 and is then lowered until its lower end engages with the spring catch.

From the foregoing it will be noted that when the chair is to be folded the seat and back may both be disposed within the perimetrical limits of the back leg board 12 and between the flanges 29 of the plate 27. After the back piece and seat have been folded in the manner above explained, the back leg board is then pushed downwardly until it lies flush with the upper face of the base board and forms a closure for the opening 12thereof.

WhileI have shown and described the chair as being mountedin abase board accompanled by spacing sleepers, it will be understood that the slide plate 20 may be arranged within an opening formed in the floor when the same is laid and that the chair may be folded into .this opening in the same manner as it is folded into the base board above described. It will also be understood that the base boards of adjacent chairs may be arranged in the nature of meeting blocks so as to form, in effect, a sub-flooring laid over the vreal flooring of the building. 3 V

If the chairs are employed, in connection V with an inclined floor, it will, of course, be

necessary to alter the proportions of the front and rear legs in accordance with such conditions. A hand ring 40 may be pivoted with a metallic cup let into the outer face of the rear leg board 13 to enable the'user of the'chair to easily'unfold it for service.

In reduction to practice, it has been found that the form of this invention illustrated in the drawings, and referred to in the above description as the preferred embodiment is the most efficient and practical; yet

realizing that the conditions concurrent with the adoption of this device will necessarily vary, it is desirable to emphasize the fact that various minor changes in the details of construction, proportion and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, when required, without sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention, as defined by the appended claims.

lVhat is claimed is 1. A folding chair including a base board provided with an opening, a back leg hinged to the base board and constituting a closure for the opening therein, when the chair is folded, a pair of front legs slidably and pivotally connected to the base board, a seat pivotally connected to the back leg and pivotally and slidably connected to the front legs, and aback member slidably connected to the back leg, said seat and back being foldable to position against the lower face of the back leg when the chair is folded.

2. A folding chair including a back leg mounted for swinging movement, a seat pivotally connected to the back leg, a pair of front legs, means pivotally and slidably connecting the front legs to the seat, yieldable means normally holding the seat in position against the back leg, and a back piece movable to extended position above the back leg or to position against the lower face thereof when the chair is folded.

3. A folding chair including a supporting base having an opening leading through the upper face thereof, a back leg hinged to the supporting base and constituting a closure for the opening thereof when the chair is folded, a slide plate secured within the supporting base, a pair of front legs pivotally and slidably connected to the slide plate, a seat pivoted to the back leg, means pivotally and slidably connecting the front legs to the seat, and a movable back connected to the back leg, said back piece being adapted for disposal in extended position above the back leg for disposal in folded position against the lower face of the back leg.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS E. HERINGTON.

Vitnesses R. A. BROWNLEE, GHAs. KRIEG.

Copies of this patent may be obtained forfive cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0." 

